Newmont Mining Corporation held their ribbon cutting ceremony for the Long Canyon Gold Mine located less than 30 minutes west of West Wendover on Interstate 80 on September 28, 2016.

The Long Canyon Gold Mine began as an exploratory project by Fronteer Gold in 2007 and in early 2011, Newmont acquired Fronteer Gold and then continued the exploratory work which proved out that a significant gold ore deposit lie on the eastern slopes of the Pequop Mountain range.   Newmont then initiated the permitting process with the Bureau of Land Management to construct the mine in early 2012 and that process was completed in early 2015 when the BLM issued their Record of Decision authorizing the construction and operation of Newmont’s newest gold mine located near West Wendover.

Governor Brian Sandoval was one of the many honored guests at the ribbon cutting ceremony along with many other State, County and City officials.  Governor Sandoval gave a speech covering the importance of mining in the State.  He reminded the attendees that mining was the paramount reason Nevada became a state and was accepted into the Union in October 1864.  It was due to silver and the rich mineral resources Nevada brought to the Union which was in the midst of fighting the Civil War against the Confederacy.  Mining in Nevada has been a part of the State ever since.  Nevada is the leading gold-producing state in the nation representing well over 70% of U.S. gold production.  Additionally when looking at gold production globally, Nevada represents more than 6% of that total.  Mining in Nevada provides tens of thousands of direct and indirect jobs and provides support to numerous communities and the State on whole.

Newmont’s Long Canyon Gold Mine is expected to produce over 150,000 ounces of gold annually from the ore body starting calendar year 2017.  At current gold prices that is nearly $200 million in gross revenue for the mine.  That rate of production is anticipated to continue long into the future as the indication is that this significant ore body goes well beyond the current limits of the operational pit now underway.    Long Canyon’s management indicates that the ore deposit grade is 0.08 ounces of gold per ton of ore where many other mines fall in at an average rate of 0.03 ounces/per ton. Additionally the ore body is strictly gold, there are no other metals such as silver or copper contained in the body thus providing a very efficient gold production process.  Thus, Newmont’s newest gold mine here near West Wendover is likely to be one of its richest deposits and could be one of its longest operating mines given the extent of the ore body, thus providing careers for many generations of miners to come.  Full employment was indicated to likely occur by the end of 2017 at around 270 direct employees in addition to the many contractor employees that are part of the operation.

Through the exploration, permitting and now development of the mine the City of West Wendover was acknowledged as an important partner and will continue to be into the future.  As part of the original exploration work and more recently the Surplus Water Service agreement between the Cities (West Wendover and Wendover) and Newmont, Newmont has constructed and provided to the Cities at Newmont’s expense a total of three new water wells along with associated infrastructure including pump houses, back-up power generation, several miles of main water transmission line and electronic data monitoring equipment which is used by West Wendover to monitor and operate our municipal well field.  The cost of these facilities alone is more than $5million in improvements in addition to the other financial support Newmont provides to various organizations in the community including our schools.

Congratulations Newmont on the Long Canyon Gold Mine, we wish you and all of us great and continued success!

(Pictured from the left: Interim Regional Sr. VP of Newmont Gary Dowdle; Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval; Newmont President & CEO Gary Goldberg; Long Canyon General Manager Gordon Mountford)